2 Wisconsin Cities Ranked Most Neighborly In United States

WISCONSIN — Madison and Milwaukee were recognized on a list of most neighborly U.S. cities in 2021, according to a ranking by online marketplace Neighbor.com.

Madison ranked No. 1, and Milwaukee ranked No. 10 based, on their volunteering opportunities, community events and charitable giving.

Some 25 cities were ranked most neighborly on criteria such as the number of nonprofits, volunteering opportunities and crime rates, Neighbor.com communications lead Casey Schow told Patch.

Madison ranked first for happiest cities. Research showed that the city had plentiful volunteering services such as food drives and community events such as farmers markets, Schow said. The city also had a low crime rate.

Milwaukee excelled in volunteering and charitable giving but could improve in overall happiness, Schow said. Milwaukee didn't make the list in 2020.

Some 1,000 Americans between the ages of 21 and more than 80 were surveyed about what it means to be neighborly. Neighbor.com found the following results.

• Nearly two-thirds of respondents (61.5 percent) hang out with their neighbors at least a few times per year, and nearly one in three (29 percent) hang out with their neighbors weekly.
• More than half of respondents (53.9 percent) feel more concern for their neighbors because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Most respondents (79.1 percent) did at least one favor for a neighbor in the past year.
• Most respondents (65.8 percent) have at least two neighbors they can rely on to water their plants or pick up their mail if they go out of town.

Madison was followed by Rochester, New York; Portland, Oregon; and Minneapolis in the rankings.

Read more about neighborly cities at Neighbor.com.